Just Because
by Taisi
Summary: In which Wally has a crush on Conner that he's sure is entirely unrequited. Superboy/KF
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Pretty much random. I have a soft spot for this pairing, and there's not enough of it out there...so here's my contribution! C: This is most likely a two-shot.

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><p>Kid Flash sort of had a thing for Superboy. He couldn't help it! Crazy bright blue eyes and god, he was strong. And sweet, too, in that awkward manner of his, and shy and uncertain- and so, so sincere in everything, because he'd never had to experience a lie. Unlike the rest of them, there was nothing Conner had to hide.<p>

And Wally loved it. No pretenses, no hidden nuances behind key words- what Conner said was how it was, and Wally could _count _on that.

Conner was forthright. Never did a damn thing he didn't want to, never said what he didn't mean, and every smile Wally _ever _won from him was _honest._

Wally loved him for that.

Not that he'd ever tell him. _Ever. _On his death bed, he'd carry the secret to his _grave._

Because out of every person on the team, Wally was the least likely for Conner to fall for. And he accepted that.

Or tried to.

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><p>"Conner! Come to to the kitchen!" Megan swooped into the room energetically, beaming at the clone where he sat playing poker with Wally, Kal and Robin. Wally tried not to scowl at her for the interruption- it wasn't her fault, she was nothing but nice- and directed the frown instead at his bad hand as Conner got up to join her. "I made you peanut butter cookies, you said you wanted to try them, right?"<p>

_No, he said he'd never had them, _Wally thought, disgruntled. _There's a difference. _

"What's the matter, KF?" Robin leaned over the table to nudge his arm. "Jealous? You know you'll get them in the end, anyway, Conner always feeds half of them to you. He hates her thinking they went to waste."

"Well, in Conner's defense, Megan's cooking is... questionable," the Atlantian of their group contributed, calmly rearranging his cards. "Though she has been improving lately."

"I'm not _jealous,_" Wally said, sticking his tongue out at them. "But Con-man was finally getting the hand at this game! And man, his poker-face is _legit."_

Robin cackled and Kaldur smiled; Wally grinned back and Conner came to join them a few minutes later with a plate of cookies he not-so-subtely slid in Wally's direction. The cookies were sort of lumpy and a lot burnt, but Wally grabbed two immediately and popped them in his mouth, just to see Conner relax and smile.

Okay, he was maybe just a bit jealous, Wally decided as the card game resumed and the smoke alarm went off in the kitchen.

_But not of him. Of her._

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><p>Artemis was crazy smart- as smart as Robin in her own way. She came back from Star City for the weekend late Friday night- when everyone was asleep but the resident speedster- dropped her bag on a stool at the counter in the kitchen, took one look at him and said, "So you gonna tell him?"<p>

Wally, who'd been minding his own business, drinking fruit punch out of the carton, promptly choked. When he glanced over at her warily, she was smirking, leaning against the counter with her chin propped up in her hand.

"I'll take that as a no."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Wally said almost completely casually, opening the fridge. "Hey, Megan made lasagna yesterday- there's some leftovers here for you if you're hungry." He withdrew a plate covered with cling-wrap and held it out to her. "That being said, _I _made chicken parmesan earlier and saved you some."

Artemis took it with a grateful smile and moved past him to the microwave. They were capable of getting along- it was their well-kept secret. He turned to go- maybe to watch a movie, since he couldn't sleep- and she said softly, "He won't think any differently of you if you tell him. He's not capable of being mean on purpose."

Wally froze in the doorway; in the end he shrugged without turning around, and raced to the relative safety of his room.

He wasn't afraid of that- he knew Conner would never hurt him on purpose.

He was just afraid Conner would hurt him and not realize it- because Conner didn't know how to lie.

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><p>The criminal was just some dork in a ski mask trying to rob a grocery store, and Wally couldn't believe the police weren't there taking care of it yet. There were plenty of scared people, and the man was waving his hand angrily, gesturing at the cash register. For whatever reason, the man behind the counter wasn't moving fast enough or at all, and the masked man was getting more and more agitated.<p>

Just leaving the scene would've gone against all Wally's morals- there were people here in legitimate trouble, he couldn't walk away if he _tried. _So he sighed, shrugged inwardly and pulled his goggles out of his pocket, glad he carried them even when he was in civvies. Sliding them over his eyes, he jogged out of the alley he'd ducked into and towards the store, picking up speed with each millisecond- because hey, he could handle this and the police wouldn't need to worry about it-

_Oh. A hostage. _

He was moving too fast to stop without drawing complete attention to himself, so he frowned and moved even faster. Too late to stop now, he'd just have to change his plans a bit-

The man behind the counter said something and the criminal spooked, and he was hefting a gun against the girl's head and shouting, and Wally could almost _see _his finger tighten around the trigger.

So he sped up, wind tearing through his clothes, and he pushed himself a little harder to make up for that drag- he was there in a few seconds, just as the gun went off-

And oddly enough, in the second that seemed to be an eternity as he threw himself forward, the gunshot still ringing in his ears, he could have _sworn _someone yelled his name.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sooo, I lied? This is a three-shot now. :D Please enjoy this chapter! It wasn't meant to take this long, buuut I lost Internet. OTL

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><p>Man, did his head hurt.<p>

Sirens were flashing and the masked man was being led to a squad car; the policemen were commending the manager on his bravery, and the poor guy kept trying to deny thanks, looking around for "that kid that came out of _nowhere" _because _he _was the real hero.

But that kid was nowhere to be found- a bunch of cameras and a bunch of attention after something like that didn't suit him well in civvies. Go figure. So he'd slipped out first chance he got, and got as far away as he could without throwing up- which wasn't far. Moving made his head spin, he must have hit it pretty hard when he made a grab for that girl. Then he collapsed onto a bench to catch his breath (just for a minute) and the world went black.

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><p>"Wally."<p>

Huh. Hearing voices now? He huffed out a breath- typical- and didn't open his eyes.

_"Wally."_

The voice was pretty persistent. It sounded pretty pissed, too. And _pretty _familiar. Really familiar. It sort of sounded like-

Recognition hit him hard; his eyes flew open and he sat up a little too fast. "Supes!"

The clone looked anything but impressed, but his eyes did soften when Wally groaned and brought a hand to his head. "So you did get hurt."

Wally laughed and waved him off, praying he wouldn't blush or something equally embarrassing. "No, man, I just hit my head or something. Honestly I dunno what happened." He glanced around, anywhere but at his comrade; his muddled thoughts were slowly coming into order, and he put together that he was _not _on the street where he'd been a few seconds ago. "...Are we at the Cave?"

He could tell Superboy hadn't looked away from him from the sound of his voice when he answered. _God, _and Wally loved the sound of his voice. "Yes. I brought you to my room. I wanted you to rest, and no one would bother you here. You've been asleep for three hours."

Wally froze, sort of stuck on the first few words. _Conner's _room? Which meant he was in Conner's _bed?_

He maybe sort of a little bit panicked.

"Sorry! I'll uh- " He threw back the blanket, planning on pretty much just getting the hell out as fast as he could- but at the same time the world swayed dangerously and his head ached strongly, a strong hand pushed him back down and held him there.

"Stay put," the clone with _very _blue eyes said firmly. "I'm not letting you go anywhere until you can walk without going cross-eyed, Wally."

_Say my name all the time,_ Wally thought wearily, knowing it was pointless to struggle with that hand like an oak tree planted in the center of his chest. And he sort of _was _tired. And Conner was watching him and for once it didn't make him feel self-conscious, it just sort of made him feel-

_Important. To him. For now, at least._

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><p>Robin wasn't mad. Wally had sort of been afraid he would be, since Robin told him to meet him at the manor instead of...anywhere else.<p>

But when Alfred let him in and led him to the den (one of them) where Robin was waiting, still in uniform and obviously just back from patrol, the whites of that omniprescent mask narrowed in what Wally knew was a glare, before the Boy Wonder relaxed the way he only did around the Bat-family and his best friend and punched Wally on the arm.

"You had me worried, KF."

And Wally felt himself grin back, following the younger sidekick to the couch. "You were worried?"

Robin's laugh was a lot more childish than his cackle and he pulled his mask off, tucking it into his belt. His blue eyes reminded Wally of _other _blue eyes and the speedster felt his good mood falter- he grinned anyway as he stretched himself across the couch next to the acrobat, shifting so he took up most of the available room while using his bestie as a convenient human pillow.

But Dick could read him like a book, and glanced down at him with a frown on his face. "Are you okay, dude?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He hated lying, so he _wouldn't _lie, but there was no way he'd tell the truth either. He reached over to pull Robin's mask back out, putting it on and throwing up a peace sign. "Hey, do I look like a vigilante?"

_That _got another laugh out of him, albeit a reluctant one, and Dick yanked his mask back. "More like an idiot."

"All part of the charm."

_I'm scared of being honest._

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><p>Another explosion rocked the foundation of the building they were in, some stupid museum, and Wally scooped Robin's crumpled form into his arms, rushing back to his teammates as the ceiling started to collapse. Kal was supporting 'Missy, something had happened to her leg, Superboy was kicking the doors down so they could get out, and Megan was keeping the worst of the debris from falling on top of them.<p>

"Go!" she shouted over her shoulder, and Conner ran back to take Artemis from Kaldur, because carrying her would be a lot like carrying a notebook for him, and Kaldur turned to grab their very-much-in-the-way-of-defeated villain, dragging the unconscious man behind him as he followed the clone outside. Wally made it to the safe point before the rest of them did, laying Robin down carefully well out of harm's way, and glanced back.

It looked a lot worse from the outside than it did from the inside, if that was even possible, as flames from the top floor licked their way out the windows and burned up into the sky. As Conner and Kaldur caught up to him, the building heaved, groaning spectacularly, and Wally's chest clenched in icy fear because _one of his friends was still in inside._

He snapped his goggles into place. Conner glanced at him sharply, and his eyes widened to see the speedster gearing up for a sprint, so bright and so full of fear and concern- Wally's heart might have broken a little.

_He loves her._

"Don't worry," he said tightly. He couldn't bring himself to look at him. "I'll save her."

He took off, and he was glad he could focus on running, glad he could focus on the feeling of building up impossible speed, rushing back to the collapsing museum, through the doors, focused and not worried even a little, because there was enough time to get to her, whole _seconds, _and he wasn't even concerned when the way into that room was blocked off because there was another door down the hall and it was easy to skirt the flames if he didn't think about it- he was there in no time, and something must have knocked her out because she was lying motionless on the floor, no wonder she hadn't come outside yet, so he scooped her up and cradled her close, much like he had Robin, and turned to leave-

"He loves you," he told her, not even feeling the fire as he moved through it. "But everyone saw that coming, right?"

_It was always hopeless._

The safe point was in sight, and everyone was there waiting for them. It was obvious they would be, but it still sort of made him smile. Robin was awake and pacing, and Wally was relieved the youngest of their group was okay enough to scowl and mutter darkly. Kaldur was tending Artemis' leg, the blonde gritting her teeth and bearing it, and Conner-

_He'll be happy. I got her out- she's safe._

Thinking was detached and unnecessary because he was _running, _he'd been in there for a whole two and a half seconds and he needed to speed up because the building was literally coming down _now_- but the world was kind of spinning and the ground kept tilting and lurching which made it _really _hard to run.

So he concentrated on his feet, on the labored breathing in his arms, on the very blue eyes watching him from where he knew it was safe-

And he ran to them, and as darkness ate up the world and he felt himself fall, twisting so Megan wouldn't get hurt, he heard someone call his name.

But he knew he was hearing things, because that voice would've called out to Megan, not to him.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, so, it went from three chapters to four. :C I wanted to wrap it up with this chapter, gaiz, but it would've felt too crowded. So there's another chapter to come!

And, I don't _think _I went overboard on the angst here, but...I've been wrong before...

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><p>He woke up badly. No, that didn't make sense; he woke up, and then it went bad.<p>

Because he woke up in the Cave, in the med bay this time instead of anyone's room, and the room was sorta empty, only a few people clustered around him and it was still hard to distinguish more than one face at a time; Robin was the one he recognized first, though it took carefully scrutiny- really, did the world _have _to sway like that?- and he noticed the younger boy was clenching his hand tightly.

"Worried again, Rob? You oughta stop that, your hair'll turn gray." He hated that his words slurred together the way they did, and started to shift upright, despite the way it made his head pound. Because he was fine, just sorta dizzy and maybe a little nauseous at all the light and sound even though the room was pretty quiet.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Stay there, Wally. You have a concussion. A bad one."

He froze, heart palpitating wildly, and didn't look over- and up- because he _knew _that voice, knew the hand, knew the strength behind it, knew it was only Conner, his good friend and nothing more, the one with grave blue eyes-

And he also knew it wasn't fair for Conner to sound so concerned. It wasn't _fair _for him to sound like he _cared _that much because he _didn't_, and Wally didn't blame him, really, he didn't, but he wished he would just _stop pretending _because Wally was stupid and kept hoping, _hoping-_

_He loves _her.

"Wally." Robin's voice was alarmed and Wally realized a little too late he was vibrating, but he didn't care, didn't stop to care, couldn't breathe. He snapped his arm out of Robin's grip, yanked away from Conner because he couldn't think and it _hurt _to be close to him.

In half a second he was halfway across the room, where he stumbled into a table and clutched at it because everything was _spinning. _

Conner was fast, faster than Robin, and it was Conner who grabbed him and heaved him upright again- Conner's blue eyes, worried and so close and Wally was blinking back tears before he knew what was happening and once he was crying he was _sobbing, _and he couldn't help it, couldn't stop.

Conner's grip on him slackened and the clone stiffened- his first time witnessing anything like this, he probably had no clue what to do- and Wally, vibrating as hard as he was crying, pulled free and ran.

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><p>No idea where he was going as he sprinted away; didn't wait for the zeta beam, ran down stairs and out through the garage because it was faster than waiting on that stupid computer, and he was picking up speed and even though each step hurt a little more than the last one did, he was okay because each step was a just a <em>little <em>bit farther away from him.

Wally was being stupid. He got that. Conner, Megan- they were good for each other, she was patient and steady and gentle, level-headed and firmly rooted, everything Conner needed. Everything Wally _wasn't. _

They were his friends, he should be able to let this go- for them, if nothing else. It wasn't their fault.

Knowing it was _his _fault made him choke on a sob and he stumbled, his foot catching on a rock or something, sending him plummeting to the ground. He reached out instinctively, and caught onto what might've been a tree or a lamp-post; whatever it was, it was tall and solid. He clung to it as his head throbbed painfully and stood there panting for what felt like forever.

Clinging and panting and crying, feeling like the farthest thing from a hero, wanting to run without stopping, and wanting to stand still forever- he didn't know which would be easier.

"_There _you are."

After a single tense, breathless moment, his shoulders sagged and his chest ached with _relief _at the sound of that voice. He turned to it immediately, letting go of his support to reach out to it blindly, because _that _voice was all the safety in the world.

He was instantly rewarded by strong arms wrapping him up, close and tight. "You really scared me," the red-clad hero told him quietly. "You know that?"

"Sorry. I'm sorry." All was forgiven, if the gentle fingers carding through his hair were any indication. He could feel himself relaxing slowly, the trembling and vibrating fading into spent shivers, and he closed his eyes.

Those arms shifted, never letting him go, and Wally was scooped off the ground like he was twelve years old again, cradled against a broad chest and the lightning-bolt emblem that meant the world to him.

"Let's get you home."

But home was too blue eyes.

_Or it used to be._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I suck so hard at guesstimating the length of stories. Seriously. I sat down to write this "last chapter" and it kept getting longer and longer, so I cut it short and you'll get the rest in chapter five WHICH IS SRSLY THE LAST CHAPTER THIS TIME. Sorry I'm awful at predictions. :'C

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><p>One of the great things about Barry was that he didn't ask questions when he knew there weren't answers. He was there in the morning when Wally woke up- in the room Uncle B and Aunt Iris had given him in their house in Central City- and when Wally only blinked blearily at him, the man smiled ruefully and ruffled his hair.<p>

Barry wasn't angry that Wally had run off when he was in no condition to do so, _or _that he'd risked his own safety for Megan- when push came to shove, things like that happened and he understood. He did, though, assure Wally that no matter what it was, Wally could tell him what had him so upset- he didn't _have _to tell him, the choice was all his, but Barry wished he would.

"You know I'll love you no matter what, Kid."

"I know Uncle B." And he really did.

But it was time to cut his losses. Saying it out loud made it real.

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><p>Barry somehow talked Batman into giving Wally a day off of, sort of; Batman agreed less reluctantly than either speedster expected, on the condition that Wally could be sort of paged into work in the case of an emergency.<p>

He felt bad taking the offer as quickly as he did, but- he wasn't ready to face Conner. If Batman and his uncle needed to think it was a mental health day, then they could. It sort of was anyway.

_I have to drop this. Get him off my mind._

Because it was just a stupid one-sided crush and in the end it was only going to hurt someone.

Wally sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. He regretted his meltdown more than he'd ever regretted anything. If Supes didn't think there was something wrong with him before, he _definitely _did now.

But it was okay. It _was. _

Wally just had to repeat that a couple thousand more times and he'd get used to the idea.

Wally would go and apologize to him. Make something up- he was good at that. Convince him that nothing was wrong, he was just being stupid, lingering affects of the concussion _whatever _worked, he'd use it.

Robin had been there for the show- he'd be the harder of the two to blindside. But Wally was going to do it. He was going to _make _everything okay.

_No more freezing up, no more too-big smiles, no more blushing and sidelong glancing- You're not a girl, Wally, and you're not getting anywhere with this._

He could make this be okay, no matter how much it killed him on the inside. And one day, if he kept at it, acting would stop being acting and become the way it was.

Until then, Wally would just have to cope.

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><p>He really didn't know why things like this happened to him. Honestly, he was just <em>walking. <em>In _civvies. _He hadn't been asking for it or anything close.

He'd been strolling across a pretty busy bridge, nothing to do really and energy to burn, and then _bam, _right there, a car accident. He didn't even see how it _happened, _his head whipped around in the direction he'd come at the sound of crunching metal, all thoughts of Conner blissfully evaporating. He turned and ran closer, a quick assessment proving that three vehicles were involved- as he neared, one of them careened right off the side of the bridge, plowing through the railing and into the murky water forty feet below.

There were too many people there screaming and pointing, and whipping out phones to call the police but too _slow, _for him to risk super-speed. He knew that, for the moment at least, he was any other fifteen year old boy standing in the way with no way to help.

Wally wasn't thinking as he rushed to the hole in the railing, shoving his way through people to get there. He did some quick mental math, and figured it'd be about thirteen minutes before help arrived, and a few minutes more before rescue was underway.

Plenty of time for someone to drown.

He stripped off his jacket, ignoring the shiver that ran down his spine, and fished his goggles out of his pocket. He shoved his jacket at someone near him and snapped the goggles into place over his eyes, didn't stop to adjust them, felt someone grab his arm and a few voices rising as it became clear what he was about to do-

But come on. He couldn't let someone die.

He jumped.

Cries followed him for an instant before he hit the water and went under, and all sound was muted but for strange, echoing noises- the full and hollow ambiance of the dark and dirty river.

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><p>Saving someone from drowning in a car fully submerged in a body of water sounds a lot easier than it is. But he focused on the step-by-step, never really having done this before, and wouldn't let himself panic.<p>

If he hadn't had his goggles, he might very well have been screwed. Finding the car wasn't much of a problem since the brake lights were on, gleaming in a sorta spooky way through the really gross water, but opening the door took a lot of pull, and the girl behind the wheel was barely conscious- her long brown hair clouded around her face like a messed-up halo, and Wally reached across her to struggle with her seat belt.

She reacted to that, glancing at him slowly, and he took advantage of that brief moment, catching her eyes and holding them in what he hoped was a look of reassurance as he vibrated his hand through the seat belt buckle.

_Hopefully no one asks about that if they ever drag this car out of here. _He untangled her from the seat, feeling his lungs start aching for air and thought it wasn't fair, really, he hadn't even been down here that long. He put an arm around her waist, bearing her up out of the car. Her hands gripped his shirt tightly; she was trembling.

_It'll be okay, _he wished he could tell her, glancing up at where sunlight was refracting on the surface of the water. _We're nearly there. _

Four seconds later they broke the surface, both of them coughing and gasping and it took Wally a minute to realize she was crying, too. He moved in the direction of the shore, relieved- and surprised- that there were medics on the scene already and people rushing out into the water to help him, and when it was shallow enough to stand, he braced her- too worn out to walk, but the engrained instinct of any hero had him supporting her weight and telling her in a voice as low and comforting as he could make it that she would be okay. He sort of brushed the hair out of her face, because she was shaking and holding onto him like he was her lifeline, and it felt like the thing to do.

He didn't expect the kiss that followed- a soft press of her lips against the corner of his mouth, a beautiful smile and a lingering look as she was led away.

And he didn't expect to look up and see Conner on the bank watching him, fists clenched so tightly it looked painful, too blue eyes narrowed as Wally stood there dumbly in the cold water and stared back.

No, he didn't expect that at all.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Last chapter! Finally, right? C: Please enjoy~ It's terrible. xD I won't lie. Happy ending though, does that make up for it? OTL

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><p>Trying to yank your hand out of Superboy's grip was kind of like trying to yank your hand out of a sidewalk if it was encased in the concrete- you'd dislocate your shoulder faster than you'd get your arm free.<p>

But that wouldn't stop Wally from trying.

"Supes, let- let go." He pried at the firm hand clasped around his wrist to absolutely no avail and tried not to sound desperate. "Supey, there are a bunch of people here, they probably think you're gonna beat me up."

Conner didn't answer, shouldering through the crowd and dragging Wally after him, ignoring anyone who reached out, whether to ask Wally questions, or congratulate him, or call him an idiot for what was definitely not safe for a kid his age, didn't matter, Conner shoved past like he had a personal vendetta against them. And thank god for people like Uncle Barry and Bats, because if Wally was getting mugged he'd be screwed, everyone just let them go.

His clothes were all wet and his hair was in his eyes; his goggles hung at his neck, and altogether he was pretty sure he looked like shit. He was sort of shivering, too, wondering where his jacket ended up, and Conner was dead quiet for several more blocks.

Conscious of that hand holding his arm, and the strength behind the stride that carried them through town so quickly and into a long, narrow alley, Wally felt his face heat up and started to paw at that hand again, though weakly because he knew it was no use. "_Are _you gonna beat me up?"

It should have come out with a laugh, but it came out quiet and small. He cringed when Conner stopped walking, and did his best to meet his gaze when the taller boy turned to stare at him.

"You think that?"

Wally opened his mouth to say something like "_Yeah, _bro, have you seen your face?" but Conner's blue eyes were soft and serious and what came out was, "I know you'd never."

The hand around his wrist tightened but in a different way, and Wally was aware very abruptly that the two of them were very alone but for the occasional passing car. Suddenly Conner was so big and so close, the way he leaned in.

"Then why do you _run _from me?"

Wally stood frozen, because blue had become the whole world. The clone pressed in closer and Wally struggled to find his voice. "I- what?"

Conner's eyes were burning. "You run ahead- every _time- _and leave me behind where I can't _protect _you. The robbery, the fire, the bridge- even when you had a concussion, you would rather run away from me than rest."

Wally's face was red, he _knew _it was, and he glanced away, finally, trying to look anywhere but at _him_, trying to tug his arm away again- because the conversation was getting really dangerous really fast and it was _hopeless _and he knew it but it would be so _easy _to believe if Conner messed up, said the right thing- the wrong thing-

Something he didn't mean, something that would hurt because it would be real- because Conner didn't lie- but it wouldn't the real Wally _needed._

"You're trying to run now," Conner said quietly, and Wally shook his head, not trusting himself to speak- because Conner didn't _understand, _he didn't _realize-_ "Why? Are- you afraid of me?"

Wally shook his head again, quickly, trapped and scared and his heart was breaking right _now _and it wasn't fair, because- because he was kidding himself when he thought he could lie to Conner, lie to those so, so blue eyes- he was just kidding himself. He did that a lot.

"Do you hate me?"

"Never." Wally said it too fast and closed his eyes, mortified. He was ruining this more and more. "I could never hate you, Supey. I'm sorry you thought that." He fished around for words. "I'm just- I've been weird, lately, uh. It's- it's not your fault, it's um. It's- "

"Should I kiss you?"

Wally whipped his head up so fast it took his eyes a second to catch up. He felt the air around him sort of slipstream the way it always did when he tensed up like that, because his body automatically started preparing itself for the failsafe- overdrive.

_"What?"_

Conner looked uncertain. "In Megan's television shows, the guy kisses the girl he likes. And I like you, but you're not a girl. Is it different?"

Wally was shaking his head slowly. "Don't- Conner, don't say that. You don't know what it- "

He was shoved against the dirty alley wall with just enough force to shut him up, and Conner was close, so close. "_Don't _tell me what I don't understand. The genomorphs taught me human behavior and I've been- awake- long enough to see it for myself. Don't start patronizing me now, Wally, _not _when I know what I want."

He stroked Wally's hair back out of his face and despite his tone, his hand was gentle.

"I would've gone after you yesterday," he continued, "but Robin stopped me and explained it." _Robin?_ "If I kept chasing I'd never catch you- you're too fast." His smile was uncertain and sincere and _Conner _and it made Wally sort of sway. "So I just had to be waiting for you, where I knew you'd be."

He was trembling. "But you- but _Megan- _" It was hard to remember why it wasn't possible when Conner- who didn't lie- was telling him otherwise. "You- you love- "

And Conner, with the look of someone patiently giving in to ridiculous demands, leaned in and kissed him.

Wally had no idea where he learned how to do the things he was doing with his tongue, but thinking about that would come later because Conner was _kissing _him. He was _kissing Conner. _

They were making out in a dirty alley in broad daylight, Wally pressed up against a wall and Conner's arms keeping him there-

Which was good, because Wally didn't think he could stand on his own. Conner pulled away, licking his lips, and Wally was panting and clinging and no, dammit, he would _not _cry-

"Me?" he whispered it carefully, daringly.

"You," the clone said with a crooked grin that made Wally's heart do acrobatics that put Dick's to shame. "It took you long enough- for someone as fast as you are, you sure are slow."

He kissed Wally again, on the corner of his mouth- where the girl he'd rescued had. It was the last piece to the puzzle, and things came together so quickly he was thankful for the millionth time for the super-acceleration in his head, too.

_Me. It's been- this whole time- _

It was ridiculous and stupid and cringe-worthy and _awesome _and he would look back on this moment for years with a dorky smile because hot _damn, _Supes was in love with _him!_

He grinned, and Conner smiled back, and thank god they were in a somewhat private place because Wally was dragging Conner back down for another go and Conner's smile turned into a _much _more familiar smirk- because they had wasted enough time running and chasing and they had a _lot _to make up for.

Speedsters were quick at everything. Quick to speak, quick to move, quick to smile- quick to fall headfirst in love_-  
><em>

"Who are you calling _slow_?"

-and hit the ground running.


End file.
